Many homes have multiple seating units, such as chairs and sofas, residing and arranged in a living room or den. With the trend toward increased use of the living room or den as a recreational, entertainment and dining space, many consumers desire furniture pieces that provide function and/or flexibility beyond the conventional seating and support provided by conventional furniture. As an example of furniture having added flexibility, many manufacturers offer “sectional” sofas, which enable the user to place multiple sections of a sofa (typically lacking one or both arms) side-by-side to create multiple seating locations. The consumer may purchase different numbers of sections in order to create a desired sofa configuration, and the sections can be rearranged by the seller or the consumer to create more sofa configurations. Sectional sofas may have generally aligned seating locations or may include one or more corner sections that provide an L-shaped or U-shaped sofa.
Some consumers may desire that the sections of a sectional sofa include additional features. For example, so-called “reclining” sectional pieces move from an upright position to one or more reclined positions that are particularly suitable for sleeping, reading, and watching television. Often an extendable ottoman or footrest is included in a reclining sectional piece. Reclining sectional pieces typically have upholstered box-type frames within which reclining mechanisms are mounted; often the reclining mechanisms are supported by a base that rests on the underlying floor or have their own integrated base. Exemplary reclining sectional pieces are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,031 to Rogers, Jr. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,244 to Sproule, the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entireties.
One of the difficulties with sectional pieces is maintaining the relative positions of the pieces once they are placed by the user. Many reclining seating units include a driving handle or a release mechanism mounted on the outer surface of the arm to move the seating unit from an upright position to a reclined position. Clearly, if such a reclining unit is to be used in a sectional sofa, either it must serve as the end section or it must be actuated in another manner (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,244 to Sproule, supra, includes a console between two reclining sections, wherein the console includes actuating buttons for the reclining sections). Clearly, either of these attachment techniques limits the flexibility of the reclining sections.
One additional method of attaching adjacent sectional pieces is to simply fasten them together with a horizontal rod or the like on one sectional piece that is inserted through a sleeve mounted on the adjacent sectional piece. However, such attachment can make it difficult and/or inconvenient to attach the sections in the event the user wishes to separate them (for example, to rearrange the room). Also, this technique may negative impact the appearance of the upholstery of the sections. Further, this technique is unsuitable if the arms and/or frame of the seating unit move relative to the floor when the seating unit reclines.